


Time Just Is

by harmony88



Series: Forever With You: Part 2 [3]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:20:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28913751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harmony88/pseuds/harmony88
Summary: COMPLETEThe Doctor and Rose go undercover to investigate an alien activity reading at Cambridge University in 1968, and they discover something that tells them they haven't quite finished what they started in their forever timeline.“It’s..tweed,” she said, smiling at him. He sighed.“The suit? Yeah. Not my choice,” he said. Rose bit her lip.“You can’t wear a tie with that suit, Doctor,” she said. She ran to the closet, and brought him a bowtie, which he frowned at.“No, nope. No way. It’s not a tux, Rose. I’m not wearing a bowtie. It’s a ridiculous accessory if not part of a tux,” he berated, throwing the black tie on their bed. She smirked at him.“I like it,” she whispered.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Forever With You: Part 2 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2111892
Comments: 2
Kudos: 123





	1. Planning

**Author's Note:**

> This story probably won't fully make sense if you haven't read the other series. Just a head's up!

Her moment of weakness was just that: a moment. 

The air felt light and normal a few weeks later as she was dancing around the console, smiling at him. He was watching her with his cheek in his palm, looking at her adoringly as she tried to show him she knew how to fly to New New York, and he was trying not to laugh when her brow furrowed and she realized she typed the coordinates in wrong. 

“Okay, just...wait,” she said, and wiped the slate clean, starting over. The TARDIS was doing its best to help her, but Rose was determined to do it all on her own and blocked the old girl out of her mind, and the Doctor just started to laugh. “What?” 

“Nothing,” the Doctor said. “She says you’re stubborn.” 

“So?” Rose asked, her tongue in its usual place. He just beamed at her and sat back in the passenger seat. 

“You don’t want any -” he began, but she just flashed him a look. 

“No,” she said simply and he just held his hands up in surrender, watching her, falling more in love with her as she tucked her hair behind her ear and pulled the lever. 

The gentle spin of time danced under their feet until it didn’t, and she ran to the door, peeking outside. She groaned and ran back to the console. “It’s just New York again…” 

“Rose,” the Doctor said, “can I please help?” 

She sighed and nodded reluctantly, and he moved to her and stood behind her, brushing her hair off of her neck and planting a tender kiss in the space where it curves. She hummed at the sensation and he kissed her again. “Just trust yourself.” She rubbed her lips together, that familiar warm feeling he gave her creeping back up and he led her hand back over to the lever. “Go ahead.” She took a deep breath and typed in the coordinates she thought were correct, and he kissed her neck again. “ _New_ New York, love. Punch the first one twice.” 

She caught her breath at the husky way he was speaking in her ear and just nodded, doing it again. He continued to kiss her slowly, his hands on her waist as she moved onto the coordinates for the year and date, and he smiled at her when she pulled the lever, and they once again felt time spinning beneath their feet. 

“How was that?” she whispered, and he slipped his hands under her shirt so he touched her skin on her waist, rubbing small circles just below her belly button. She shuddered, and turned in his embrace so she was facing him, and she kissed him tenderly as they arrived, and he pulled away with a gleam in his eye. 

“Go and see,” he murmured, and she bit her lip as she moved to the door, looking back at him with his favorite smile when she realized it worked. “Allons-y, Rose Tyler! Chips await!” 

She laughed and they held hands, and it wasn’t long before they were sitting on their beloved apple grass with their snack, looking up at the clouds. Her head was on his shoulder, and for a moment it was as if nothing at all was wrong in the universe, and he looked at her. 

“Traveling with you, I love it,” he said. She felt her stomach flip over as he made a happy noise next to her, and she kissed him, the salt from her chips landing on his lips, and he licked it away with a sigh of content, his hand finding its way into her hair. 

“Me too,” she eventually said when she pulled away, and they watched as the space cars whizzed over their heads and the sound of the water rang in their ears, and she let out a long breath. 

“We should take them here,” she said, watching the cloud that was closest to them. 

“We did,” he said, thinking she meant Martha and Donna, but she just smiled at him. 

“Not them,” she said softly. “Our...cubs.” 

He stared at her, and she laid her entire body down on the grass, her chips all happily devoured, and he felt a lump in his throat as he watched her eyes trace the sky. 

“Okay,” he said, not yet moving to sit next to her. A moment passed, and he let out a breath. “Where else should we take them?” 

She looked at him, and she was chewing on her lip as she thought, eventually locking her eyes to his. “Atlantis.” 

“Oh, yes,” he said, smiling. “Anywhere else?” 

“Mmm...the villa, she murmured, and he laughed. 

“That’s obvious. They have to -” he began, but he broke off and cleared his throat. She saw him dart his eyes up the sky, and she rubbed her lips together, realizing in that moment as she watched his Adam’s apple bob that he had been _thinking_ about this much more than he had let on. 

“What, Doctor?” she whispered. He just made a face and looked at her. 

“Well...I...,” he said, clearing his throat again louder than before, “I was going to say they’ll have to take their first steps somewhere, and that, well...that the villa seemed…” 

She sat up and stared at him, her heart pounding. Her eyes danced with his, and she felt a small smile creep onto her cheeks. “What else have you thought about?” 

He blushed. They had never had a conversation quite like this, even though it was one he had dreamed about for months, and now that it was here he was finding himself entirely embarrassed, which he knew was stupid, but he also knew _Rose,_ and it wouldn’t take long for her to realize this was something he wanted quite badly, sooner rather than later, and he didn’t want her to feel pressured. 

There was a reason he had locked all these thoughts away. 

“Nothing,” he said, smiling at her. “What about you?” 

“Yeah, no…” she said. “I mean, I think about it, but...I don’t plan anything, really. Whatever is supposed to take place...will.” 

“Quite right,” he murmured, trying not to show the crash he was feeling, and he felt himself growing lightheaded. He ended up laying down on the grass and closed his eyes. She was nibbling on her lip and layed down next to him, linking their hands together. 

“One girl. One boy, maybe,” she whispered. “I thought about that, some. Don’t know if your Time Lord DNA can help with that or not, but -” 

He burst out laughing and looked at her. She was smiling at him and he just started to laugh harder, pulling her to him. “That was one of the most adorable things you’ve ever said, Rose Tyler.” She beamed at him, and he kissed her forehead. “Can’t control that, I’m afraid.” 

“Well,” she said, resting her head on his chest. “I like surprises.” 

“Me too,” he whispered, and they both didn’t say more for a while, letting their unspoken words linger in the air, but they weren’t heavy. They were both lost in thought, thinking about that first slip up she ever made that brought kids onto the table. They thought about the lingering looks when they babysat Tony, and the start of this conversation after the Space Games so many months ago, and the fears they had on Barcelona, and they realized they were...planning. 

It gave her butterflies. 

“I think first steps at the villa sounds nice,” she said softly, and he felt his breath hitch. 

“Yeah?” he asked. She nodded. 

“Yes.” 

“Good,” he said, and they turned their attention back to the clouds. He felt a wave of confidence come over him and he sniffed. “I, um...I thought about the nursery on the TARDIS, a bit.” 

“What?” she said, pulling away from him with a smile. The scent of apple grass hit them both with a force as she shifted her position, and he cleared his throat. 

“I mean, not...well...not _a lot_ or anything, but…” he said. His confidence was lost, and he just shook his head. “Forget it.” 

“No, wait,” she said seriously, rubbing his hand with her thumb. “Doctor…”

His eyes danced with hers and he took a deep breath. “Rose.” 

She felt her eyes brim with tears and she pushed them down. All their blocks were up, but his heartbeat in her ring was rapid and hard, and she searched his face, seeing right through his deflective exterior, and she realized how much all of this meant to him. She found herself leaning in and kissing him, inching as close to him as she could, her hands wrapped around his neck as his tongue darted out and met hers. His hands were gripping her waist and the back of her head. She moaned a little and pulled away, pressing her forehead against his. 

He stopped breathing and was unable to speak, and she smiled at him. “Part of me, Doctor...Part of me wants to do this right now, the second we get back inside the TARDIS, but we have forever and I just...I want time with you. Just you. Because this will change everything. And I think it will be fantastic, but it will change -” 

“Rose,” he said quietly. “We already talked about all of this.” 

“I know,” she said. “But that was before…” 

“Before what?” he murmured, rubbing his finger against her cheek, and she just bit her lip. 

“Before I knew you were thinking about first steps and nurseries,” she whispered. “I don’t want you to feel like I’m...depriving you, or -” 

“Stop,” he said, and pulled her into a hug. “Don’t do that, please.” 

She took a breath and he kissed her head. “But I -”

“Please, Rose,” he said, pulling away and smiling at her. “Ten months ago I thought I was going to lose you in sixty years. I want time with just you, too. I love you.” 

“Are you thinking about it, though? I mean…” she whispered, and he just sighed. 

“Of course I am,” he said. “But it’s entirely up to you. I’m in no rush. Forever is a very long time.” 

He grinned and she bit her lip, smiling back at him. “Will you show me?” 

He just stared at her, his hearts beating rapidly again, and he sighed. “It’s embarrassing, Rose.” 

“What?” she asked. “Why?” 

“Because! I... I mean, it just is, I don’t know,” he said, throwing his hands in the air as he collapsed back onto the grass. She hovered over him. 

“Just a little then, slowly,” she said. “Whatever part you want.” 

He stared at her, and he clenched his jaw. “Don’t laugh.” 

“Why would I -” she began, but she stopped when his mind reached out to hers. 

_She saw a blonde head running around the console. She couldn’t see their face, but she was sitting in the passenger seat and he was standing by the controls, and they shared a glance with each other._

_“Slow down,” the Doctor said, and Rose watched as the tiny little person, a being in the universe who was hopefully a whole lot of him and a little bit of her, just pouted and climbed up onto their own chair, and the Doctor beamed at them. “Thank you.”_

Just as quickly as it began, the dream ended, and he was staring at her when she opened her eyes, and she smiled at him. 

“One thing, though,” he whispered. “I’ve said this before, too. I hope they’re a whole lot of _you,_ Rose.” 

She bit her lip and sat back on the grass, and he sat up next to her, sniffing. She didn’t say anything, and he felt his nerves fluttering, even though he knew they shouldn’t be, and she just shook her head. 

“You git,” she said, nudging him with her elbow. 

“What?” he asked, shocked, and she just rolled her eyes. 

“Only you would be daydreaming something so...ordinary,” she said with a smile. He just raised an eyebrow at her. 

“What should I have shown you, then?” he asked, genuinely intrigued. She just smiled at him. 

“I don’t know,” she whispered, linking their hands back together. “But...I liked that.” 

He smiled at her, brushing her hair out of her face. “I’m glad.” 

They both felt the blush creep on their face like it eventually always does when they think about kids for too long, and she leaned her back against his chest as they breathed in the grass and the water, and he kissed the top of her head. 

Neither knew quite what to say, and there was nervous energy in the air now. But it wasn’t bad; it was full of potential and hope, and as the sun began to set they stood hand in hand, and he kissed her as the wind began to pick up, and when he pulled back he saw her as she was, so very long ago, wearing a purple jacket, his perfect pink and yellow human, and he had another one of those moments where he was processing how much they had been through. That they just had a conversation planning for _kids._

That they had forever. 

“Come on,” she whispered, leading him back to the TARDIS. 

He smiled at her, and followed her inside. They let their eyes dance and linger for a moment, and just as he was about to push her against the wall and get lost in sensations, a beeping sound came through the monitor and they moved to it quickly, where an SOS from Jack had been waiting for an hour. 

“Alien activity in Cambridge…” Rose murmured. “That sounds fun.” She read more, and her stomach did a little flip when she saw the recommended note that they go undercover, as the University had a strict policy about guests at this time. 

The Doctor leaned against the console, and pulled out his psychic paper, and he beamed at her. 

“Rose Tyler, you are studying Quantum Physics…” he said, handing her ID to her and looking down at his own. “And….HA! Dr. James McKinnon, I’m a physics professor.” 

“It does not say that,” she said with a smile, and he showed it to her with pride, and she just rolled her eyes, remembering their night in 2056. 

“Costume change, mister,” she said, and they both spent the next bit of time getting ready. She covered her attire up with a peacoat, wanting it to be a surprise, and she walked into the ensuite as he was grumbling over which tie to wear, trying to choose between black or blue. 

“It’s..tweed,” she said, smiling at him. He sighed. 

“The suit? Yeah. Not my choice,” he said. Rose bit her lip. 

“You can’t wear a tie with that suit, Doctor,” she said. She ran to the closet, and brought him a bowtie, which he frowned at. 

“No, nope. No way. It’s not a tux, Rose. I’m not wearing a bowtie. It’s a ridiculous accessory if not part of a tux,” he berated, throwing the black tie on their bed. She smirked at him. 

“I like it,” she whispered, and he just raised a brow at her, and she rolled her eyes. He watched her in the mirror as she returned to the closet and walked back a few seconds later with a plaid ascot, which she tied around her neck. “There. Now I have a ridiculous accessory, too.” 

He fought a smile, but when she laughed and pressed her body against the doorway he just shook his head and took the bowtie from her, locking in place and sighing when he realized it did look much better than the tie, and he kissed her. 

“You look beautiful,” he murmured, and she kissed him again. “Can I see what’s under the coat?” 

“Surprise,” she said, and he just gave her a flirtatious look as she grabbed a prop purse that was once again bigger on the inside and held her hand out. “Can’t be late for our first day of school, Doctor.” 

He grabbed her hand and moved to the console room, and before they knew it, they were parked on the grass of the wing of the University the readings came from, and set the rest of their undercover plan in motion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another writing playlist song that gives me so much inspiration, if you're interested. Just listen to the lyrics (legit think they wrote about these two lol) :) 
> 
> "Many Are the Stars I See, But In My Eye No Star Like Thee" by Ursine Vulpine & Annaca


	2. Patrick's Theory

If he wasn’t the Last of the Time Lords destined to save the universe with each passing day, he’d have been a teacher. 

He thought about this as he turned around, a chalkboard behind him, suddenly face to face with sixty bright and eager young adults, unaware they were about to receive their first proper lesson in many theories of time and space. 

How they managed to finagle their way into this situation was a blur. All he knew was they found the actual professor, and convinced him with psychic paper to go home to take care of an emergency, and here he was. 

Rose was in the room with him, filling in her role as ‘Quantum Physics’ student, and he was doing his absolute best to address the class with his usual sense of charm, but his eyes kept darting over to her. She was rolling a pencil in her teeth, listening to him as she slowly scanned the room with her eyes, trying to pick up on anything that might seem suspicious. She had taken off her peacoat, and he was just now noticing she had given herself a cat-eye with her eyeliner and her hair was teased, adding extra volume around her face, and his eyes darted down her body, where she was dressed in a plaid skirt that wrapped tightly around her waist, coupled with a green blouse and that bloody ascot. 

She also, and this is the part that was driving him insane (along with that _damn_ pencil), wore knee high socks with some saddle pumps. 

He clenched his jaw and pulled his eyes away from her, looking back at the classroom. “Right!” he began, leaning against the desk. “My name is Dr. James McKinnon, and I will be filling in for Professor Cartwright.” 

A few students grumbled a ‘hello’. He looked around the room, and decided to get a sense of what he was working with, his eyes and ears open for anyone acting suspicious, just as Rose was. 

“You, in the blazer,” the Doctor said, pointing to a young man with large, round glasses, “What do you know about relativity?” The man just stared, babbling a little about Einstein, and the Doctor sighed. Rose bit down on her pencil to suppress a laugh, and the Doctor moved to another student. “You, in the red. Black holes...What do you know?” 

“Oh, erm…” he began, looking around the room for help, and the Doctor’s eyes met Rose’s, who shifted in her seat, looking up at the man. 

“They absorb things,” Rose said, and the Doctor shot her a small look. She gave him a flirtatious grin, enjoying this way more than she should with the pencil still in her mouth, and he shook his head ever so slightly at her. 

“Right,” the man said. “They’re like...infinite. But they’re just a theory.” 

“ _Like_ infinite…” the Doctor said with a creased brow, looking back at the man. “What does that mean?” 

“Never ending, right?” the man said. “Deep. Don’t they go on forever?”

Rose was still nibbling on the pencil, and the Doctor sniffed. 

It was all as he expected, of course. He wasn’t in the room with Stephen Hawking, that much was obvious, and he knew Earth knew very little about black holes at this time. He was testing them, seeing if anyone got anxious the more space talk he threw at them.

Aliens tended to react poorly to that sort of thing. 

He turned his attention to the chalkboard, beginning a basic lesson in the theories of quantum physics and relativity, making sure not to jump too far ahead and change history, but highlighted all the important bits up until this year; ensuring every single one of these students all knew it was a very real thing in the universe that they should all care about, and Rose found her mind wandering. 

He was sexiest when he talked science.

He was rambling excitedly, running his hand through his hair as he spoke, turning to address the students specifically. They all had a thousand questions, and she leaned down in her chair and tried to stop squirming as each question delighted him, lighting up his face like a Christmas tree, and before she knew it all she could think about was grinding her body against him on the desk he was pacing in front of. 

The sensations she felt watching him were visceral in her gut, and she accidentally sent him some of those thoughts, complete with sound effects. He stopped his lecture, looking directly at her for a moment. 

_We have a job to do, Rose Tyler._

_Mhm._

He just raised his eyebrow at her for a moment and cleared his throat, returning to the students. “Where was I?” 

“Quasar Connection,” one student said, and the Doctor just grinned. 

“Right! Yes, well…” he said, continuing his lecture. 

Rose’s pencil was covered in bite marks and she finally slipped it from her teeth and tucked it behind her ear. She caught the Doctor’s eye again, and when she saw just how messy his hair had become she made a small noise, and he realized she was squirming in a very specific way that usually results in them getting very naked very quickly, and he clenched his jaw. 

She smiled at him as he continued speaking, until he started to feel her heart rate increase in his ring and a surge of her arousal hit him with a force, making him end a sentence with a groan. He cleared his throat. 

“Miss...Tyler, was it?” he asked, looking at her. She felt her entire face flush for a moment and she sat up straighter, biting her lip as hard as she had bit her pencil. 

“Yes,” she said, her voice breathier than she meant it to be. She saw him click his tongue against his teeth before he sniffed and looked at the door at the back of the room. 

“I think someone is waiting for you,” he said, and her mouth dropped open. 

_Are you kicking me out?_

_You’re distracting me. Impossibly._

She felt a brand new surge of heat rush through her and he stopped breathing so he didn’t give himself away. 

This would be the mother of his children. 

It was _all_ unraveling him quickly, her voracious act now in her knee high socks and their conversation earlier, which he still hadn’t entirely let go of, but he couldn’t give in. They had a _job to do._

“Okay,” she just said, and stood up. He clenched his jaw as she made it a point to sway her hips more than usual as she walked away, and his eyes followed her out of the room, trying to maintain composure. She turned back to him just before she slipped out through the door and flashed him his favorite smile, and he let out a breath as he looked back at the classroom, and continued. 

_I love you._

_You’re insatiable._

He could feel her smile in his head as he wrote more information on the board, and she continued. 

_I’ll get a head start out here, yeah?_

_Be safe._

_I will. See you soon._

_Not if I see you first._

He glanced up at the clock and knew the session was supposed to end at two o’clock, and they only had about ten more minutes. He took the last couple of questions he could, trying not to think about his wife. 

He was unsuccessful. 

One man raised his hand, just as the clock was about to strike two and end the session, and the Doctor just nodded at him. 

“Do you know anything about time?” the man asked. The Doctor furrowed his brow at him and he just looked at him. 

“In what way?” he asked. The man sat up straighter, wearing a simple tie and cardigan. He looked entirely unthreatening, and the Doctor saw Rose slip inside the moment she heard the question in his head, sitting at the back of the room. 

“Just...anything,” he said. The Doctor turned to the board, pointing to one of his diagrams. 

“It’s relative,” he said. “The theory of relativity can apply to it as well. Time slows down or speeds up depending on your frame of reference. You might notice that the walk to class feels much longer than the walk back to your dormitories.” The classroom laughed. “Time is affected by emotions and thoughts as much as anything else.” 

“But it doesn't actually move faster or slower, time just is,” the man said. 

“Is it?” the Doctor asked, leaning back against the desk. The man opened his mouth when the clocktower outside struck two, practically on cue, and people began to filter out of the room. They all passed Rose wordlessly, though she heard some people talk about how attractive their substitute was, and she bit her lip. 

The man hadn’t moved from his seat, and the Doctor was watching him. There was no animosity or challenge in their exchange, and the man smiled. 

“I have a theory,” the man said, still in his seat. “I’ve been waiting to talk to someone about it who thought about relativity the same way I do. None of the other professors...I can tell you have more to say and are...holding back. Probably to make sure you don’t overload these idiots.” 

“That’s rude, isn’t it?” the Doctor said simply, and Rose traced her tongue with her lip. 

The man just smiled at him. “My name is Patrick. Patrick Townes.” 

“Pleasure,” the Doctor said. “What’s this theory?” 

“That time isn’t man made. That’s what many think. That time is only...here, created by the Aztecs, the Mayans, the Romans...ancient civilizations who were trying to have structure in their worlds and we’ve never questioned it or challenged it. We just live by the Gregorian calendar without a second thought. All of us.” 

The Doctor stared at him, and he clenched his jaw. “So...time is a classification?” 

“Here, yes,” the man said. “But I think it’s more than that. Larger than we can understand.” 

“Who made it, then?” the Doctor asked. His hearts were beating in his chest, and Rose leaned forward so her chin was in her palm. Her pencil was still behind her ear, and she watched as Patrick just shrugged. 

“Time just...is,” he said. The Doctor just looked at him, able to see he was holding back. “Like I said, it’s a theory.” 

“Well….my lecture today was about black holes, not time,” he said. Patrick smiled. 

“What if they are all related? What if time controls everything? Black holes could just be the absence of time,” he offered. 

The Doctor smiled a little at him, rather impressed. Rose leaned back, and the Doctor just tapped the desk. “What if, indeed.” 

“So you think it’s possible?” he asked. 

“I think all theories are worth considering,” he said. 

Patrick just stared at him. “I’d like to talk more, if you don’t mind. Are you busy?” 

The Doctor shook his head, and glanced up at Rose. Her Instincts came out to play. 

“Professor McKinnon?” she asked innocently, and he felt a pulse in his groin at the phrase. “Sorry, that was my sister who interrupted class. I missed the last bit of your lecture.” 

“Oh,” he said, looking at Patrick. “Nothing, really. Mr. Townes and I were talking about an interesting theory about time.” 

Rose smiled at him, seeing what he was doing, and she moved down to Patrick subtly, nodding. “Oh,” she said. “I for one think time is all a bunch of...ripples. Affecting our every move in ways we don’t know. Spinning under our feet.” 

Patrick stared at her, and the Doctor felt a small smirk curl onto his cheeks and she looked at him. Patrick held out his hand. “What’s your name?” 

“Rose Tyler,” she said, shaking his hand. He kissed the back of hers, and the Doctor looked down at his feet, knowing her disgruntled face would make him laugh. 

“Nice to meet you,” Patrick said. “Do you believe in the Gregorian calendar?” 

“I think it’s useful,” she said. “But I also think time might just be too large for us to contain in 365 days.” 

Patrick smiled at her, and the Doctor clenched his jaw, recognizing the look in his eye as one he used to give her, back when there were stolen glances around the console and lingering touches neither were sure meant anything. 

Lust. 

_Doctor._

_Sorry._

He still got jealous. Bad habit. 

Patrick smiled at both of them. “I’d love to take you both to lunch, if you don’t mind. I haven’t been able to talk to anyone about this before.” 

“Sounds lovely,” Rose said, and the Doctor just nodded. 

“Allons-y,” he said. 

They moved out of the classroom, and the Doctor was kicking himself for pretending he didn’t know who Rose was during his lecture as they walked across the lawn. Patrick was flirting and he was flirting _hard,_ and he had to keep up appearances, which meant he had to just… watch. 

Rose did her best to avoid being touched, and even went so far as to say she was in a relationship, but it seemed to go in one ear and out the other, and the Doctor found himself glaring at the young man. 

“What’s his name?” the Doctor asked eventually as Patrick tried to touch her arm as he laughed. 

“What?” she said, and he just shrugged. 

“This...boyfriend, or…” he said, and Rose shot him a look, her tongue fighting with her teeth to stop smiling. 

“John Smith,” she said. 

“Seriously?” Patrick asked. 

“Yes,” Rose said, and she glanced at the Doctor, who grinned at her. “He’s my husband, actually.” 

She held up her ring and Patrick made a small coughing sound and stared straight ahead, and Rose gave the Doctor a small high five with their hands down by their hips so no one would see. 

With the incessant flirting gone, Rose was finally able to get a better read on Patrick as they sat down at an outdoor restaurant near the campus. A waiter brought over some water and menus, and they were looking it over, and the Doctor was making small talk. Rose was letting her Instincts guide her, and the Doctor was ready to shut up at any point and let her take over, and they all ordered their meal as she watched Patrick carefully, and finally stepped in. 

“So...what else do you believe?” she asked, and Patrick smiled at her. 

“Just what I’ve said. Time is. Nothing we can do about it, and trying to control it is futile,” he said. 

“Who said anything about controlling it?” the Doctor asked, and Patrick just shrugged. He looked at Rose for a moment, and he sniffed. “Back there….you kept saying ‘here’...What did you mean?” 

“What Rose said,” Patrick told them. “That time is too large for us to contain. It can’t just belong to Earth.” 

“But it’s relative,” the Doctor said. He knew Rose understood the laws of time in the same way he did and only said that because it’s what Patrick needed to hear to invite her along, and she sipped her water as the Doctor began his next lecture. “Seems to me time is exactly what you need it to be.” 

“According to who?” Patrick asked. 

“You,” the Doctor said. “It’s different for you than it is for me. For Rose. For that man over there. Time is, you are correct, but it also bends. It morphs. It's wibbly and wobbly and it winds and twists and turns. It isn’t linear.” 

“Says who?” Patrick asked, intrigued. They weren’t arguing, and the Doctor just smiled and sipped his own water, sighing. 

The Doctor didn’t say anything and Rose squeezed his hand under the table, a flash of double suns hitting both of them from his mind, and he took a deep breath. “Why’re you so interested?” 

“My theory -” Patrick began, and Rose jumped in. 

“That time isn’t man made? I heard that bit when I walked in,” she said. Patrick nodded. “Time may have existed before and we did, that’s true, but we gave it meaning.” 

The Doctor felt his breath hitch. He knew she didn’t mean humans. Not that Patrick would know that. 

She squeezed his hand again. 

Patrick just looked at her, “Okay,” he said. Rose smiled. 

“So...I’m not sure how you can really prove your theory,” she said. 

Patrick just stared at them as their food arrived. He had a bowl of some sort, the Doctor had a sandwich, and he smiled at Rose when he saw fish and chips in front of her. They ate in silence for a moment, until Patrick let out a long breath and shook his head. 

“I’ve never said this out loud. I’m afraid they would kick me out of school or call me a conspiracy theorist or something...but...I’m trying to find someone,” he said. “Someone who I think can help me prove that the laws of time are bigger than we can begin to understand. That time just _is_. It’s not a bloody calendar, not man made, and all of space reacts to it.” 

“Who?” the Doctor asked, fully expecting to hear his name. Patrick leaned in and whispered. 

“Gallifrey,” he said. The Doctor swallowed his bite before he was ready and choked a little, having to drink some water to help him get the food down. Rose stopped eating, too, staring at Patrick. 

“What?” she asked. Patrick nodded. 

“A man named Gallifrey. I believe _he_ created time. If I can find him, I can -” he began, and Rose interrupted. 

“Where did you hear this? That’s… a silly name,” she said. Patrick looked at her. 

“It came to me in a dream,” he said. “I went to sleep a few months ago, thinking about this theory, and I dreamed of Gallifrey.” 

“What did he look like?” the Doctor asked, his hand gripping Rose’s. Patrick chewed his food, each second he didn’t speak seeming to drag on impossibly long. 

“I didn’t see his face in the dream,” Patrick said. “But I have a feeling it’s time itself asking for my help.” 

“That’s stupid,” the Doctor said. Rose shot him a look, and the Doctor clenched his jaw when he saw the hurt in Patrick’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Patrick, but...time is a theory. Not a person.” 

“Do you believe in other worlds, Dr. McKinnon?” Patrick asked. A moment passed, and the Doctor just swallowed. “I believe that we are not alone in this universe. That there are creatures from another world. Gallifrey is one.” 

“Really?” the Doctor asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. 

“Wow,” Rose said, an equal amount in hers. They shot each other a quick glance. Patrick didn’t notice it, he was just playing with his food, thinking. 

“Time exists everywhere. Not just Earth. That’s what I’m trying to prove…” he murmured. “Gallifrey will know.” 

The Doctor clenched his jaw, completely unsure where to go from here. And Rose was dipping the same chip in her sauce over and over, also trying to figure out what to do. 

“Not sure you need to prove that, really. And even if you did...How would you find him?” the Doctor asked, returning to his food. Patrick’s eyes darted up to him, surprised he was asking, having resigned himself to being written off. He cleared his throat. 

“I’m not sure. I’m trying to figure out if there is a way to talk to him. To time,” he said. “I know that sounds stupid.” 

The Doctor wiped his mouth with his napkin, his sandwich finished, and took a long sip of water. 

_Think we found our alien activity._

_Yep._

“How are you doing that?” Rose whispered. 

“Wait….do you two...believe me?” Patrick said. 

“No,” the Doctor said. “But I told you all theories are worth considering. So I’m considering it.” 

Patrick smiled a little, and he shook his head. “Can you imagine? If we weren’t alone in the universe? What time might it look like to other worlds?” 

“The same, I imagine,” Rose mumbled. The Doctor looked at her, and she sighed. “I’m sorry, Patrick. I agree that time is bigger than Earth, but that means it would be the same everywhere. It’s universal law.” 

“You don’t know that,” he said. 

“I do,” Rose said, and the Doctor chewed on his cheek, knowing this was her Instincts talking. “I’m not a Quantum Physics major, Patrick. And he’s not Dr. McKinnon. We’re the Doctor and Rose Tyler and we’re time travelers. We were sent here to investigate alien activity which I’m assuming is something you must have caused when you were trying to ‘talk to time’, whatever the hell that means. I’m not trying to be harsh, but time...Gallifrey doesn’t exist.” 

The Doctor clenched his jaw, and Patrick just stared at her. 

“Wh-What? But...how do you know?” he whispered. 

“I’m from there,” the Doctor said. “It’s not a person, Patrick, it was a planet. And it’s gone.” 

Rose looked at him, and Patrick sat back in his chair. “It’s a unique theory, Patrick. But you won’t be able to prove it. It’s wrong.” 

The following minutes were excruciating as Patrick processed. 

“Wow,” he eventually said, and the Doctor was shocked he wasn’t arguing. He took a deep breath. “So...what is time then?” 

“Exactly as I said. Relative. Wibbly-wobbly. Different to everyone,” the Doctor said sniffing. Patrick just nodded. 

“Are black holes the absence of time?” he whispered, and the Doctor just sighed. 

“I can’t tell you that,” he said. “Time is also fragile. Ripples, like Rose said, they can disrupt the already set rings of time like a pebble being pulled from the water.” 

“What are you saying?” Patrick asked. 

“I’m saying you humans are brilliant and you’ll figure it out,” he said with a smile. Rose smiled, too. Patrick just stared. 

“Are you...not human?” he asked, shocked. The Doctor just shook his head. “What about you?” 

Rose bit her lip. “Not really.” 

The Doctor felt his stomach flip hearing her admit that to someone again. He squeezed her hand. 

“Aliens look like us...typical,” Patrick muttered. He sat in silence for a few more minutes, and they saw a weight land on his shoulders before he sighed. “I don’t know what I’m doing.” 

“Anything you’d like,” the Doctor said, and Patrick just laughed. 

“I suppose,” he said. 

“We have to break whatever device you were using to...talk to time, Patrick. It’s why we’re here,” he said. Patrick just nodded and stood up, tossing some currency on the table. 

“I understand,” he said. “It’s in my dormitory.” 

It felt a little too easy, but they were trying not to get ahead of themselves. They all walked silently, the Doctor sliding his hand into Rose’s without thinking, and not caring when he remembered they were technically undercover. Patrick knew the truth. 

“You two are together, then?” Patrick asked, noticing, and the Doctor just smiled. 

“Oh, yes,” he said, and Rose bit her lip as they walked into Patrick’s building. 

Everyone was screaming.


	3. Leather Jackets

It was absolutely chaotic as they walked inside. People were trying to escape their rooms, pushing one another as they darted through the halls, and Rose and the Doctor were thrown up against the wall in a frenzy, their eyes locking with Patrick. 

They heard a loud snarl and looked over quickly, where they saw a creature that was confusing to look at, to say the least. It’s skin was scaly like a pterodactyl but its face was that of a pelican, and it was the shape of a giraffe. It was large and shrieking, and the Doctor just stared at it. 

“What is that?” Patrick asked. The Doctor was grinning. 

“No idea! Run!” he shouted, and he grabbed Rose’s hand, both laughing, as they followed the rest of the students out the dormitory and into the lawn between all the classrooms. Rose turned just in time to see it break through the ancient building, and somehow it was growing larger. It stood nearly forty feet high by the time it was completely free, and Rose looked at the Doctor. 

“It can grow...think it can shrink?” she asked. He grinned at her.

“Brilliant, Rose Tyler!” he shouted, and they both aimed their sonic screwdrivers at it, but just before they were able to press any buttons it began to stomp, and they all had to run. 

“HOW DID IT GET HERE?!” Patrick shouted, and the Doctor ran past a hoard of people running in the other direction, still trying to escape the creature. 

“If I had to guess…” the Doctor said, running faster beside Rose, “I’d say there was a breach in the Vortex and this little guy fell through.” 

“What?” Patrick shouted, “LITTLE?!” Rose looked at him. 

“Your time experiment!” she shouted. His eyes widened, and they heard more screams and the sound of more buildings being smashed. Rose groaned as she saw the creature’s feet inching closer and closer to the TARDIS, and she shot a beam of light. 

“WHAT?!” Patrick shouted, sounding very much like the Doctor for a moment as Rose held the creature in place, and with her other hand helped the Doctor use an atom compressor setting with both of their screwdrivers, shrinking the creature down to the size of a small dog. She let go. 

Patrick was staring, as was everyone else, and Rose and the Doctor ran to the creature, immediately shocking it with an electrical pulsation. They ignored everyone’s questions as it fell asleep, and they hugged each other for a moment. “You alright?” he asked. 

“Yeah, you?” she asked, he nodded. 

Patrick approached them slowly, and collapsed to his knees by the creature. He looked around, where his beloved school was broken and shattered. People were hurt, but they could hear ambulances arriving and they looked at Patrick. 

“Come with us,” Rose said, knowing they needed to get the creature off the planet and close whatever gap Patrick opened as quickly as they could before there were more, and she wanted to keep an eye on him. 

He followed them silently as they walked onto the TARDIS. Rose had the creature in her arms as they raced to Infirmary to run a blood test on it, and Patrick just stood in the archway shaking.

Time was _so_ much more than he thought. 

The Doctor and Rose were working quickly and quietly, their minds one, and she held the creature carefully as they waited for the results, and he sighed. 

“Mildred V,” he said. “It’s from a zoo.” 

“Really?” Rose asked. He just nodded. 

“Yeah, come on, this one’ll be easy,” he said. Rose smiled and didn’t let go of it as they walked back to the console, sharing a glance when they saw Patrick was still staring and hadn’t moved an inch. 

“It’s bigger on the inside,” the both said, and the Doctor made a happy sound as he quickly set the coordinates and pulled the lever. Rose pulled Patrick inside and shut the door as the gentle spin of time pulsed beneath them, and when she knew they were in the Vortex on their way, she opened it. “Here.” 

He stared as they twisted, swirls of millions of stars whipping around his head. He saw flashes of nebulas and planets until they reached a silver base, and Rose stayed with him as the Doctor quickly landed and dropped the creature off with the zookeeper, restoring it to its proper size before he left. 

He returned with ice cream. 

“Here you go,” he said, winking at Rose. Patrick took his carefully, and the Doctor was licking his own cone as he brought them to the Vortex, watching Rose’s infectious smile rub off on another person. 

Patrick was beaming. 

“Alien ice cream?” he asked. Rose just laughed. 

“Still just vanilla, but yes,” she said, licking her cone and smiling at the Doctor. Patrick took a small taste, and he stared at them in amazement. The Doctor let them stay in the Vortex for a bit as he sat by Rose, looking at Patrick. 

For a moment, they all just ate their ice cream, and Patrick just laughed. 

“I…” he began. 

“Yeah,” the Doctor said. Patrick just looked at them. 

“It’s not that I didn’t believe you...there was something about you, both of you, that told me you knew more than others, it’s just…” he said, trailing off. Rose was still eating her ice cream, and licked some that had fallen off the side of the cone. The Doctor watched her, still rather turned on, and she winked at him. 

“Everyone reacts this way, it’s okay,” she just said, and he tilted his head. 

“You ran out those doors,” he teased, and she just looked at him. 

“I came back,” she said. 

“Yes, you did,” he murmured, and they smiled at each other. Patrick was still staring at them. 

“I thought you said you weren’t human? You didn’t know this ship was...like this?” Patrick asked. Rose just shook her head, not explaining anything further, and finished her ice cream. Patrick just sighed. 

“What happened to Gallifrey?” he asked. The Doctor just sighed. 

“It’s just gone,” he said. “War.” 

“You have those in space?” Patrick asked. The Doctor just gave him a single nod. 

“Can I see a black hole?” he asked. The Doctor smirked. 

“No,” he said. “We’ve gotta get back. I’m scanning for the breach in the Time Vortex you opened that the creature fell through now. Once we close it off, we’ll take you home and destroy your device.” 

Patrick shook his head. “Can’t I come with you?” 

Rose looked at the Doctor, who just shook his head. “Take what you’ve seen and stay curious.” 

Rose’s brow creased, and she bit her lip. 

_Why can’t he come?_

_Your instincts aren’t saying anything?_

_No…_

_Rose...he dreamed about Gallifrey._

_So?_

_So...that wasn’t an accident._

She just looked at him, and he sniffed, turning over his shoulder as the monitor beeped. He stood and read the results, taking a deep breath as he shifted their location in the Vortex. Rose peered over his shoulder, and they saw it was a small fracture they could fix with a bit of Vortex energy, and the Doctor made Patrick leave the room and the TARDIS locked him out while he and Rose worked, her hand on the coral, once again his glowing goddess, until everything was sealed. 

He smiled at her. “How’s your head?” 

“I love that you still ask that,” she said, wrapping her arms around him. He smiled and hugged her, and she sensed a small bit of uneasiness from him. 

She knew exactly what it was. 

“If it was something serious...my Instincts would know,” she whispered. He just clenched his jaw. 

“Maybe,” he whispered. “I still..I can’t..”

“Doctor,” she said, adjusting his bow tie, which made him smile a little. “I’d rather it be me and you anyway.” 

“Good,” he said, kissing her while the TARDIS unlocked the room Patrick was in, and he came stumbling out dazed. 

“What happened?” he asked. The Doctor just smiled. 

“It’s all taken care of!” he said, letting his charming self hide his fear. Rose trailed her tongue on her lip, which still tasted slightly of vanilla ice cream, and Patrick just sighed. 

“So you just...live here?” he asked. Rose nodded. 

“We visit my mum from time to time,” she said, and Patrick just stared at her. 

“Where’s she?” he asked. 

“Earth, 2010,” she said. 

“You’re...human?” he asked. Rose just gave him a look. 

“Thought I answered that question,” she said, and the Doctor smiled at her, thinking she sounded a little like him. 

“Can I...tell people? What you told me? About time being all wibbly and wobbly? About this box?” he asked. The Doctor leaned against the console as the gentle spin of time halted, and he just stared at him. 

“No,” he said. He was very serious, staring at Patrick with a burning intensity, and Rose knew he was putting on a show, likely because he didn’t want to have to worry about him opening the Vortex again. 

He let a bit of his storm out. 

She knew Patrick absolutely _could_ tell others. They’ve helped enough people to know that the fabric of the universe won’t rip apart because of that, but she stayed quiet as the Doctor warned Patrick, who just nodded and gulped. 

“Right, then!” the Doctor said, heading to the doors. “Show us this device you’re using.” 

EMTs were on the scene wheeling people away, and everything inside of Rose wanted to run over and see if anyone was badly injured that maybe she could help, but she knew she couldn’t. They needed to take care of this and they were all in good hands, so she walked alongside the Doctor silently, her eyes following each person who was currently receiving treatment. 

_You can’t, Rose. They’d likely cart you away and try to figure out how your healing works. Experiment on you and -_

_I know, it’s okay._

She squeezed his hand, and she knew whatever this fear was about Patrick dreaming of Gallifrey was getting to him. The dormitory was empty when they walked through it until they reached Patrick’s room, and they stood in the doorway, watching him pour through papers and boxes until he turned and handed the Doctor a cube. 

He stared at it. 

“Where did you get this?” the Doctor asked, his blocks immediately going up. Rose looked at him carefully before she allowed herself to look at the cube, and she took it from Patrick, who was staring at the Doctor, scared. 

“The only other person I ever told my theory to gave it to me,” he said. 

“What did they look like?” the Doctor asked, trying to hide the urgency in his voice. 

“I...I don’t remember,” he said. “It was the same night I dreamed of Gallifrey. It felt like a clue. I’ve just been playing with the knobs to talk to time.” 

“Was he blonde?” the Doctor asked, and Rose swallowed as she looked down at the box. Patrick just bit his lip. 

‘I don’t remember, I’m sorry,” he whispered. The Doctor just sniffed and nodded, angry.

“Don’t ever play with something you don’t understand ever again,” he warned. “You could have destroyed _everything._ ” 

“What?” he asked. Rose just gave him a look as the Doctor turned away and began to walk down the hall. She followed, still holding the cube which he took from her right away, and neither spoke until they were aboard the TARDIS, and he brought them back to the Vortex. 

The cube sat on the grating, taunting them. 

She noticed the Gallifreyan symbols on the side. One said Time, one said Second, and said Minute. One said Hour. One said Day. 

One said Bad Wolf. 

Their eyes locked, and she saw his Adam’s apple bob. “I thought we were done with that,” she whispered. He just looked at the cube. 

“Me too,” he said. He kneeled down beside the cube and sighed. “This is...not possible.” 

“What is it?” she asked. 

“The Eye of Discord,” he murmured, his eyes tracing it. “Ancient Time Lord technology. A war device. It was locked up for...centuries.” 

Rose stared at it, and she just shook her head. “Why’s it say Bad Wolf?” 

He closed his eyes and bowed his head, and he ran his finger through his hair. “I don’t know.” 

Rose’s Instincts were waking up but they weren’t telling her why this was here, all she wanted to do was touch it. He moved to stop her, but it shocked her and she pulled her hand back. He frowned, panic rising quickly. “Did it hurt you?” 

She shook her head, and he reached out to touch it, and it was no longer charged. Rose touched it then, too, her fingers playing with each knob and gear, and she sighed. “Is it the only one in existence?” 

He nodded, removing her hand, and she just took a deep breath. “Then let’s keep it somewhere safe. It’s better that we have it, yeah?” 

He swallowed and mumbled an agreement, and before they brought it into the library he scanned it, just to make sure… 

It came back as Gallifreyan metal with time orbs inside, and he sighed. It all seemed.. normal. 

That made it worse. 

He picked it up gingerly and dropped it off behind his desk, staring at it. Rose slipped her hand into his, and rested her head on his shoulder. “What’s it do?” 

“They nicknamed it the Galaxy Eater. So…” he whispered. 

She just looked at him, and bit her lip. “Do we...open it?” 

“No,” he said. “Never. I want to destroy it and get it away from you.” 

He was tense, and she wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. He responded instantly, his arms gripping her waist and his eyes closed, and she tried to send him a wave of love, unsure if he could feel it with his blocks up. “You said it’s a weapon...If it went off…” 

“We’d die,” he said. “Won't regenerate.” 

She felt her throat tighten and she pulled back, cupping his face in her hands. “Bad Wolf acts with love…” 

“Rose,” he whispered. “Not now.” 

“Yes, now,” she said. “My...name, I guess, is on there. I’m supposed to do something with this, I know it.” 

“You are not to _touch_ it!” he said sternly, and she raised her eyebrows at him. He hadn’t spoken to her like that since before the parallel world, and she knew that meant he was beyond terrified. “Do you understand?! I just got you. We just got forever. That will take it all away. Leave it alone!” 

He was yelling at her, and she just shook her head. “Why the hell did you take it on board, then?!” she said, and he groaned, knocking all the papers off his desk with his hand as he shouted. 

“BECAUSE SOME 25 YEAR OLD IN 1968 SOMEHOW HAD IT!” he screamed, and she watched him throw more papers. “I destroyed it, Rose. In the Time War, it should have been _destroyed._ ” 

“Like Rassilon and the Master and the gem?” she said. She wasn’t trying to argue, she was trying to offer perspective, but his blocks were up and he just groaned, assuming she was fighting as all his fears came skyrocketing back to him. 

“That’s not fair or the same!” he spat “Those I can stop!” 

“Doctor,” she said, but he collapsed on the couch and ran his hand through his hair. “Talk to me.” 

“Just...promise me you won’t touch it, Rose. Promise me. You don’t go near it. Until I can figure out what to do…” he said, His voice was shattered, and she knelt down in front of him, rubbing his knee with her hand. 

“I promise,” she whispered. “Look at me.” He did, tears streaming down his cheeks, and she nodded. “I promise.” 

He just nodded and let out a small sob. “Thank you.” 

She pulled him into a hug, and he clung to her. She closed her eyes, and she pulled away and kissed him. “Do you want to lock it away somewhere where I don’t know where it is?” 

He sighed. “Where?” 

“I’m sure the TARDIS can create something,” she murmured, brushing his hair off of his face. 

“Okay,” he said, knowing if it was in the library out in the open he would do nothing but worry. She nodded. “I...I’m sorry. I trust you, Rose. I just…”

“I know. It’s good. Instincts are telling me that’s good,” she said, kissing his cheek. “You hear me? It’s all _good,_ ” she said, kissing his other cheek. “I’m never going to leave you.” She kissed his forehead. “Alright? You got me, Doctor. We’re safe. Everything is fine.” 

He clenched his jaw, and he broke down. 

It was a full, broken sob, one that he knew he hadn’t properly done since he stepped on board the TARDIS for the first time after Canary Wharf, and it scared him so much all he could was claw at her clothing for support.

He was triggered, fully, at this point and he knew it, and he knew it was about more than just losing her. She had never quite seen him cry like this. It wasn’t like when they met his mother’s projection for the first time, but that was the closest she could think of. There had been sorrow in those tears, but this was different. 

She realized quickly that he was also fairly angry. Their blocks were up, but he was boiling over so much she still felt it, and she pulled him in a hug. He still clung to her, and he just shook his head. “The Master did this.” 

“You don’t know that,” she said. He pulled away, wiping his tears and letting out a long breath. 

“No one else makes sense,” he muttered. 

“Do you think we’re maybe getting ahead of ourselves? Just a little? It’s safe so long as we have it. We’re not going to open it,” she said. He stared at her. 

“I just feel like we take ten steps forward and then something _always_ shoves us back, Rose,” he said. “We fought so hard, and someone gave that to him. Someone…” 

“We’ll figure it out,” she said, grabbing his hand. He just groaned, her unwavering faith driving him up the wall in this moment. 

“HOW ARE YOU NOT MORE UPSET?” he screamed, cupping her face. “You cried when I was stabbed and that wasn’t actually a problem - how does _this_ not terrify you, Rose?!” 

She stared at him, knowing in normal circumstances he would not belittle her feelings like that. Not anymore.

“What are you not telling me?” she whispered. 

His eyes danced over her face, and he realized he _hadn’t_ said it out loud. He closed his eyes. 

“The ruby...the red button..it lives inside,” he said. “This is how I did it, Rose.” 

She felt her entire world stop spinning for a moment, and she was dizzy. In that instant, she saw him as he was when they first met, a man broken by war, lost and lonely, who thought he was destined to live out the rest of his regenerations in isolation and pain. 

_"I'm a Time Lord. I'm the Last of the Time Lords. They're all gone. I'm the only survivor. I'm left traveling on my own because there's no one left," he said, hiding his pain in a smile. She could see right through him, unaware she was saving a lost soul when she said her next words._

__

__

_"There's me."_

She knew he wasn't thinking logically at the moment, and she couldn't blame him for it in the slightest. She looked over at the cube carefully, knowing it held a heavier weight than she could begin to understand and her heart broke for him. 

He had come such a long way, she knew. But she also knew how hard he was trying to accept that he did what he had to do, and this wasn't doing him any favors. He watched her as she turned her attention away from the cube again to look at him, and she pulled him into a hug. He was stunned, having fully expected her to be even angrier that he brought it on the ship now, but she just held him. 

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, and he just closed his eyes. 

His impossible human. 

He swallowed the lump in his throat and she placed her hand on his cheek, rubbing her thumb along his cheekbone. “That...Okay. We will destroy it. Maybe that’s why we were supposed to find it. To make sure it can never do what it did during the Time War ever again.” 

“It didn’t do it, Rose, I did,” he whispered. She shook her head. 

“Stop,” she said softly. “Do you remember the last twenty months?” He let out a breath and clenched his jaw, staring at their wedding rings. She sighed. “I think...maybe...we’re just finishing what we’ve started. Call it an instinct.” 

His eyes danced with hers. “They really aren’t telling you anything?” 

“No,” she whispered. “This is good, Doctor. This is supposed to be this way. And I’m _never_ going to leave you. I swear to all the Gods you don’t believe in.” 

A moment passed where hazel galaxies swam in chocolate, and he kissed her. “I believe in you.”

“Quite right, too,” she whispered against his lips. 

He choked on another sob as she continued to kiss him, both of their hands tangled in their hair. It was a frenzied and yet slow kiss, and she slipped his bowtie off, letting it fall on the floor as she pulled the tweed jacket off of his shoulders, and he broke the kiss. 

“Wait,” he whispered. “I’m sorry. I just...I need it gone. Out of here.” 

She nodded and bit her lip as he looked at her like the axis of the world rested in her eyes for a moment, and the silently stood up and grabbed the cube, moving to tuck it in a hidden room where he knew no one would be able to get it unless he asked the TARDIS. 

It did make him feel a little better. 

He returned to the library, but she was gone. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, feeling a thousand emotions and he turned, but he froze in his tracks. 

She was wearing his old leather jacket and nothing else. 

He stared at her, and she just stood in the hallway by their bedroom, where the golden light from the ceiling spilled onto her, and it was too poetic and eliciting too many feelings inside him that were a juxtaposition to what he was already feeling, and he couldn’t speak. 

“I drew a bath,” she said. “I want you to get in it.” 

He just stared at her. 

“Then I want to make hot, sweaty love on this damn jacket.” 

He smiled at her, amazed that she was able to make him do that after everything. She grabbed his hand and led him to their ensuite, and his eyes never left her face as she peeled him out of the rest of his tweed suit, and when he tried to help she stopped him. He realized she was giving him solace, and a reminder of forever all in one, and he just stopped thinking. 

She watched him climb into the tub first and then followed in after him, pressing her back against his chest. He let out a sound at the feel of her in his arms, and he began to kiss her body everywhere he could, and she rolled into him, the water rippling around them like the fragility of time. 

They washed the day away slowly, and he held her as tightly as he could, taking deep breaths. 

“I don’t…” he whispered, breaking off. 

“Shhh,” she said, uninterested in whatever self deprecating sentence he was about to say. “Me and you.” 

“Yeah,” he said, his lips finding her again. “I’d like to move to the jacket now.” 

She smiled and almost laughed at how innocent he sounded when he said it, and she slipped out of the tub and grabbed two towels, handing him one as she stepped out. She was only half dry when he undid it and it dropped to the ground, and he kissed her. 

“Mind if I lead this part?” he whispered, and she bit her lip and shook her head. He smiled at her and claimed her mouth again, their bodies already naked and ready as he joined their minds, and she cried out at the feeling of it. He murmured his love for her against her skin and led her to the bed, laying her down on top of the leather jacket. 

He had had this fantasy before, but he never imagined it quite like this. 

He moved slowly, taking his time, not after his own release in any way. He wanted to thank her for that unwavering faith that he had gotten so frustrated with, knowing he’d never survive without it. He used his mouth and his thumb first, never rushing, and smiling as she arched her back against the jacket. The sound of her skin against the fabric was like music to his ears and he moved back up to her neck, sending her flashes of his fantasies from five years ago, and she shot him a dirty grin. 

He hissed her name, both saying everything in their minds. The room was silent except for the sound of Rose’s back against the jacket and occasional grunts and moans, but inside their head it was a symphony of thoughts, sensations, needs and urges, love and more love, and still he took his time, savoring every spasm of her muscles around him, every brush of her mind, every wisp of hair that got caught on his face. He savored _her,_ and he felt his fears ease. 

Only Rose could do that to him. Make him remember the hope. 

“I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you,” he whispered, thrusting and gliding, and she nodded each time, thinking it back in her mind, until they both felt the symphony crescendo and let go, and he collapsed onto her, his hands gripped the jacket near her head, and they caught their breath. 

“Wow…” she said, smiling at him after a few minutes. He kissed her stomach, his hair a complete mess, still a little damp and very tangled, but he didn’t care. He just looked her her. 

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, and she shot him a look. “I know, our rule…” 

“Nothing to be sorry for,” she said, noticing a hickey she had made on his neck. She smiled at it and he brought his finger to it as well, his eyes locked with hers. “I can heal it.” 

“Don’t you dare,” he said with a grin, and she smiled back. 

“There it is,” she said. “A smile.” 

He swallowed and nodded and moved so he was laying beside her, and he sighed. “Finish what we started…” 

She looked up at him, her head on his shoulder. “That’s what I think. Whatever is supposed to take place...will.” 

He clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, trying desperately to search the Timelines for a flash of what all of this meant, but he couldn’t see it. He sighed. “It’s hidden.” 

“See?” she said. “It’s all part of the same timeline. It has to be.” 

He didn’t know if he believed that as strongly as she did, but he liked the sound of it, and right now he chose to accept it. He helped her roll off the leather jacket that was sticking to her body a little and he laughed, letting it land on the ground as they crawled under the covers and tried to go to sleep, which was more difficult than either wanted it to be. 

They were still awake a few hours later and she kissed his neck. “Can I try something? In your mind?” 

“Sure,” he said. And she sat up, looking at him carefully. 

“You need some rest,” she said. “I want to help.” 

He stared at her, and let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. “That’s advanced telepathy, Rose. Takes centuries.” 

“No it isn’t, “ she said playfully, and he just shook his head at her, somehow not surprised she knew that. 

“Give it your best shot,” he murmured, and she licked her lips and placed her fingers on his temples. He felt goosebumps rise on his arms, as it was the first time she had ever attempted this kind of connection, and she dove in, a wolf leading her, until she found his hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls sleep, and he smiled a little when he heard her refer to it in its scientific name. She kissed his nose, the wolf howled at the moon, and he fell asleep. 

She dropped her grasp the moment she knew he was out, and she let out a breath. Instincts and Bad Wolf helped her lead with love today, and she truly believed that cube is supposed to do the same. 

Though she could be wrong...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I know...the Doctor had another panic attack and it's was a huge theme in the last series. I promise I'm not just repeating what those were - it's all for a reason and that he won't have them quite as often. 
> 
> But again - I'm really interested in exploring character development and I know that getting "forever" doesn't mean all their problems go away. It's just isn't realistic to me that a man who had so much trauma in his past won't get triggered from time to time. 
> 
> I hope you'll bear with me! 
> 
> [Some really sweet bits are coming up soon, I promise :)]


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